run interference

run interference

To take actions to prevent or avoid certain problems or situations, typically on someone's behalf. A reference to a strategy in American football in which a blocker attempts to prevent defensive players from tackling the player running with the ball. Unless you want to hear Uncle Glen and Aunt Mildred squabbling all night, we need to run interference.I ran interference at my party so that my recently divorced friends didn't have to talk to each other.

run interference

Handle problems or help clear the way for another, as in The press secretary runs interference for the governor. This term comes from football, where it refers to the blocking of defensive players by offensive players to let the ball carrier advance. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

To see the evidence of this, let us look more closely at some of the areas of our culture where we are trying to improve communication, and it will become clear that what we are actually trying to do is run interference on communication.

I'll run interference so they aren't encumbered with red tape and bureaucracy," says Greer, who himself rose through the ranks of store manager, district manager and regional manager to become Thrifty's director of store operations.

When physicians are directly affected by information or communication technology, lay vice presidents of information systems or chief information officers usually find clinicians to play the unofficial role of clinical information officer, to run interference for them and promote clinically oriented information technologies to clinicians.

Congress, despite the War Powers Act, was effectively neutered in a skillful, bipartisan fashion by the Bush Administration (with Congressmen such as New York's Stephen Solarz, long an AIPAC ally on the hill, helping to run interference.

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